People Traveling To Iceland

Iceland Locals

Iceland Overview

Sat just outside the Arctic Circle, and buried under a deep frost for most of the year, the island of Iceland is European nature at its best. You can wait for bursting geysers, swim in scorching hot springs or head out into the central wilderness and simply stare open-mouthed at the astonishing Icelandic countryside, and do it all with Iceland’s own haunting musicians, Bjork and Sigur Ros, as a beautifully apt soundtrack.

Capital Reykjavik has all the indisputable class of a big name European city, but the welcoming vibe of a tiny village. Every weekend the entire population seem to join in an epic bar crawl, drinking and laughing until dawn on the city’s icy streets. The lucky will catch a glimpse of the northern lights, though it’s hard not to be content with the charming architecture, snowy mountain scenes and steaming open-air swimming pools.

For all the undeniable joys of Reykjavik, however, it’s the incredible countryside that visitors to the island never forget. Full of imposing mountains, snowy glaciers and steep-sided fjords, and broken with only the occasional turf-topped house half buried in the soil, it’s a vast, unmissable wilderness of volcanoes, spurting geysers and iceberg spattered coasts.

You can go rafting down the glacial torrents at Jokulsa-Austari, or trot across the seemingly endless countryside between tiny towns on your own proud steed. At Gulfoss you’ll find a geyser spurting at regular intervals, and a spectacular but icy cold waterfall plunging over the cliff side, while the toasty, misty waters of the Blue Lagoon make up the countries most renowned thermal pool.

An icy wonderland that goes beyond even the most imaginative of mid-winter dreams, Iceland is one country that’s worth leaving the tourist trail for. You’ll meet experiences that simply couldn’t exist anywhere else, alongside a local populace that remain staunchly upbeat despite the long winters and deep-seated recent financial difficulties. Soak it all up, beer in hand, from your steaming outdoor hot spring, and start planning your return trip.